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A Follow-up on Michael Phelps

Andrew Sullivan apparently holds a similar opinion to the one that I voiced earlier concerning the ridiculousness that is the sports media’s concern over Michael Phelps smoking pot. Sullivan writes that:

Yes, Michael Phelps took a few hits from a bong at a party. He also threw back a great deal of alcohol, maybe made a few passes at a few girls and bonded with a few dudes. This is news?

And yet this absurd ritual takes place in which Phelps has to pretend he did something dreadful and we all have to tut-tut and frown and furrow our brows, and the sponsors cluck and the press preens – while the only conceivable news is that a 23 year-old had a good time at a party, breaking no professional rules since he was not competing when he was goofing off.

And, seriously, does anyone think that smoking pot would give him an unfair advantage in the pool? Please. When on earth are we going to grow up as a culture?

Agreed, now let’s all just let this story fade away and hope that the next time an athlete engages in activity that thousands of other Americans do every day the media (and bloggers) don’t even notice or hear about it.